Everyone is always looking for a competitive edge in the world of professional sports.

From new training techniques, to new technology - the envelope is always being pushed further and further.

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International scouting has become the norm in sports like basketball, baseball and hockey - and now football is catching up.

Last spring Germany-born wide receiver Moritz Boehringer signed with the Minnesota Vikings, and last year, Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne played for the San Francisco 49ers.

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis is an executive who's always been a forward thinker.

He's a big believer in new ideas and innovations that can make his team better.

Even though football doesn't have the same international reach and growth as other pro sports, Loomis has expanded the Saints scope when it comes to scouting, and landed some interesting prospects with international backgrounds.

Three players on the Saints roster were born overseas.

Rookie defense tackle David Onyamata was born and raised in Nigeria and attended college in Canada.

Second-year defense end Obum Gwacham was also born in Nigeria.

His family moved to the United States when he was 7 years old.

Another defensive end, Kasim Edebali, was born and raised in Germany.

The son of a U.S. military officer and a Turkish mother, Edebali played for the Hamburg (Germany) Huskies youth team before spending his senior year of high school in New Hampshire.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Edebali went on to play collegiately at Boston College and signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

Edebali is now battling for a starting job.

"I feel like last year I left some meat on the bone, so to say, so I've got to do more, be better," said Edebali.

The 26-year-old Edebali was productive for a bad Saints defense in 2015.

He finished the year with five sacks.

"Sometimes when you're a young player is just like up and play, but now I understand technique better, I understand where protection is," Edebali said.

Three young players are vying for the job at weak side defensive end -- Edebali, Gwacham and Davis Tull.

"We're all good friends, we're all helping each other," Edebali said.

Hau'oli Kikaha was expected to start for the Saints at defensive end opposite Cam Jordan, but he went down with a torn ACL during offseason training.

The Saints had an off day Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.

As for who's stood out after five workouts, here are my top three.

1. Max Unger

The Saints may see a huge payoff from the Jimmy Graham trade in 2015.

Unger came over from Seattle with Graham going to the Seahawks.

Unger, who's entering the final year of his contract has been man handling defenders and looks amazing.

2. Delvin Breaux

Many NFL people know Breaux because of his comeback story.

The native New Orleanian broke his neck in a high school game in 2006.

After years of rehab and recovery Breaux came back to football and worked his way up through the arena league and the Canadian football league.

People may know about him in 2016 because of his play on the field. Breaux was very good on a bad defense in 2015. He could emerge as a Pro Bowler in 2016. He's dominates wide receivers in all one on one drills so far.

3. Cam Jordan

The Pro Bowl defensive end is flying around. Jordan's production has always been good, but if the Saints get it together overall as a defense this year, he could potentially become one of the league leaders in sacks.

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